SEATTLE – While football fans around the Northwest are wondering if Husky football is officially back – whatever that might mean – it seems Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is convinced that Washington is once again a formidable opponent.
When asked about his offense, which is mostly rebuilt after losing a number of stars, including Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith, to graduation and early departures to the NFL, Tressel seemed worried about the Washington defense.
“We haven’t played the level of competition yet that we’re going to face Saturday, so it will be a great test for us,” said Tressel, who will bring the No. 10 Buckeyes to Husky Stadium Saturday.
That part is probably true considering Ohio State’s first two opponents, Akron and Division I-AA Youngstown State. And it’s not as if a coach praising his upcoming opponent is an unusual practice in sports. Even so, Tressel sounded like a Washington and Tyrone Willingham believer.
When asked about the expectations the players in his program face, Tressel casually put the Huskies in some lofty company.
“They’re always going to talk about the great teams of yesteryear at Ohio State, and they’re going to do the same thing at the University of Washington and Southern Cal and Texas, that’s just the way it is,” he said.
USC, Texas, Ohio State, and Washington?
Let’s see, that’s a whole bunch of recent conference and national titles, along with a team that had won eight games in its past three seasons.
Tressel also seem to have a healthy respect for the Husky Stadium crowd his team will face.
“Well it’s going to be extremely loud,” he said. “One of the exciting things about playing in the Big Ten is that you get to go on the road to places like Penn State and Michigan and Wisconsin and Iowa, and the University of Washington, I’m told, is even louder… [Defensive coordinator] Jim Heacock spent time on the Husky staff and he said that Husky Stadium makes those places sound a little bit quiet.”
So for all of you fans on the Husky bandwagon, make room for a sweater vest-wearing coach to jump on board, because if you listen to Tressel, the Huskies are back.
Another night game: The Huskies Sept. 22 game at UCLA will kick off at 7:15 p.m. and be televised on FSN.
That makes three confirmed evening starts for the Huskies, who play USC at 5 p.m. and Oregon State at 7:15. It is also likely that the games at Arizona State and Hawaii will be played under the lights.
Injury update: For the second game in a row, the Huskies appear to have avoided major injuries. Willingham mentioned minor injuries to offensive guard Casey Bulyca and linebacker Dan Howell, but both are listed on the depth chart and expected to be ready for Saturday’s game.
Cornerback Byron Davenport, who suffered another hamstring injury against Boise State, is listed as a backup to Vonzell McDowell Jr. Luke Kravitz, who sat out against the Broncos with a hand injury, is back on the depth chart at fullback behind Paul Homer.
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